2021 BOA Austin (Sept. 25)

[rdmmp]

Not sure how soon they will disappear, but the streams from last night are still on youtube (for now).

So wonderful to see all these kids hard work showcased!  Can't wait to watch each show evolve as the season continues!

[Caroline]

  On 9/26/2021 at 4:09 PM, rdmmp said:

Not sure how soon they will disappear, but the streams from last night are still on youtube (for now).

So wonderful to see all these kids hard work showcased!  Can't wait to watch each show evolve as the season continues!

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I can’t find them if you would be generous and “not” message me them that would be lovely

[BandFan95]

I want it too

[TWHSParent]

Just search YT for Box5 Media and go to their channel. Look under the "Videos" tab if they don't show up on the "Home" tab. Nothing super-secret (at least for now).

[Rubisco]

Aww, how nice of Box5 to post those videos just for people like me who missed everything yesterday!

CTJ and Vandegrift were both really, really good. I knew it would be close.

After seeing that CTJ video a couple weeks ago, I started to lean toward a Vandegrift win here, but wasn't sure anyone would agree with that. I think mainly for me it was the cohesiveness of Vandegrift's show, which is really ironic for me to say because I had only seen Vandegrift's opener at the time; I was just sort of expecting the pieces of Vandegrift's show to fit a little bit better without having really seen it. I do really like the CTJ show, though. The musicianship is at an extremely high level, and the musical arranging is often very witty. I like the fact that it's very focused thematically as well. As always, it's filled to the brim with character and nuance (those piano players!), and they project an aura of control. They take more risks than any group in the country. I just wish the different musical and visual ideas fit together more seamlessly. I think around the point where the Deliverance banjos entered, I was scratching my head a little. I mean, I got it thematically, but musically it didn't fit very well with what came before. The visual also dropped off there a bit as well, like during the jam out section. That said, given the extreme difficulty of what came before it, I understand the need for a break!

Vandegrift's show was definitely a bit more old fashioned than CTJ's, and I do wish we'd get even more design risks from this group. But the show is pretty much pure elegance. Holy goodness do those shiny red trench coats pop on the field! I love the really dimensional letters coming up out of the ground. How cool is that? They frame the field very nicely. This group just COMMANDS the space of that field, and, like CTJ, they'll hold your ears hostage. There's definitely some significant visual dirt, and they certainly weren't alone in that department, but it's SO early. And I mean, scores over 84 for a September show? That's crazy! Carmel only got a freakin' 80 last week! (Yes, I know you can't really compare scores across contests, but still.)

I think we could see these two duking it out for the rest of the season!

[Rubisco]

Vista Ridge, I mean I give this group a huge amount of credit for tackling this beast of a show. They know that a lot of eyes are on them this season, and they really want to deliver. I think part of that is taking risks, which they did via the musical and visual demands placed on the performers, and also with regards to the content, by injecting Katy Perry into the music. Like others, I'm not a big fan of the Katy Perry stuff. I just didn't really understand the layering of a masterpiece like Samuel Barber's First Symphony with... well.... Katy Perry. I definitely respect the attempt though! It will be interesting to see what changes they make as they enter late season, because this is a group that has a habit of major improvements.

[Rubisco]

I'll try to get to some of the others later. I'm catching the top 2 at Conroe next. I'm still sort of working on that coding project.

[FaultLineBlues]

4-6 spanning across just one point is so interesting, I'm excited to see if this season stays this competitive, or if we see bands start to pull forward!

[LeanderMomma]

  On 9/26/2021 at 9:05 PM, Rubisco said:

I'll try to get to some of the others later. I'm catching the top 2 at Conroe next. I'm still sort of working on that coding project.

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Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on TWHS.

[TWHSParent]

Aaaaand, the streams are gone, only the awards presentations.

[BandFan59]

Yes, sadly the streams were cut to just award ceremonies but I'm already seeing dozens of videos taken from the stands floating around the tube. I expect bands will probably get most of them taken down but some may last awhile.

[The Amarillo Band Fan]

I chose to watch this instead of North Houston on the stream and it was a good choice. I will post my thoughts on the shows later.

[LeanderMomma]

  On 9/26/2021 at 11:12 PM, BandFan59 said:

Yes, sadly the streams were cut to just award ceremonies but I'm already seeing dozens of videos taken from the stands floating around the tube. I expect bands will probably get most of them taken down but some may last awhile.

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I got Leander but I’m keeping mine unlisted. 

[LeanderMomma]

Now that I’m back home from Austin, I wanted to express my thoughts on this incredible competition. I know I said it on Instagram, but this was the best BOA Austin I have ever witnessed, and I have seen them all other than the premiere year in 2012. I still can’t get over how fantastic everyone looked and sounded after such a stressful Covid break. Good for these kids for hanging in there and seeing it through!

My best BandMom friend and I argued all afternoon about whether CTJ or Vandegrift was going to win after seeing both perform,  and I told her it would be Vandy and she argued for CTJ. Seems the judges agreed with us because it was a very tight race between the two. Vandegrift put on such a lovely show as always, and I have to say it’s one of my favorites so far that they have done. The dance team looks TERRIFIC and I love the costuming they are wearing this season. It’s a very WGI look underneath those brilliant scarlet dresses and I am HERE for it!  Go Vision Dance team!  Y’all are just gorgeous and I’ll never complain again about the need of a guard for Vandy.

Claudia Taylor came in and blew us all out of our seats in typical CTJ fashion, but I found them even more impressive than ever this year.  They have the full show on the field as usual, but this time it was cleaner than I have ever seen them this early in the season!  And the dueling pianos are an incredible feature that can’t be overstated. Wow those kids can PLAY!  This show has GN medal potential written all over it! Good thing I’ll be there to see it when it happens.  ?

Can we talk about Rouse?!  A bronze medal at AUSTIN?!  That was unbelievable and I am SO thrilled for those kids. They really shot up talent-wise in the past few years and they have rightfully become yet another LISD powerhouse. How can there be so many in one district? The Rouse Band is making a real name for themselves and they are here to STAY!

It was another tight race between the Cedars and the Ridges on Saturday, and I was really impressed with them all!  Cedar Park is just huge now!  Where did all those kids come from?  I love it!  And their new uniforms are SO sharp and that guard is looking SO good. I am just extremely happy to see Cedar Park making a well deserved BOA comeback after their disappointing 2019 season. Nearly the exact same things can be said for Cedar Ridge!  Those purple uniforms are BEAUTIFUL. And their guard looks so sharp and impressive. I was so tickled to see this band making a comeback as well.  And Vista Ridge!  What a cool show. Talk about GE!! The Ranger band just looks and sounds phenomenal this year. Yes, they were a little messy on Saturday, but what they are attempting is pretty dang difficult and they will get it cleaned up over the next five weeks. It’s going to be brilliant by the time GN gets here and I can’t wait for Vista to have their debut in Lucas Oil Stadium!

Leander, the band of my heart, oh how I really do like this show!  I wasn’t sold on it back in August but after seeing it live Friday night and Saturday, I am ALL in!  Yes, the guard is much smaller and definitely mostly inexperienced, but they have improved so much in a month, and the groovy costumes are SO fun. You can just absolutely tell that they are having a BLAST performing this show.  And the Grateful Dead bear masks they throw on in the second movement are just an awesome touch as well. I love it!  The band itself is obviously smaller than we are used to seeing, but their sound is just WOW!  The woodwinds and percussion are stellar, the ensemble groups terrific, and how fun is that tuba solo?!  But the trumpets and all of the brass, oh my!  The overall sound in the ballad was pure bliss.  I am not exaggerating when I say I was reminded of the Harloff Crown brass sound when Leander played the end of the ballad on Saturday.  Chills. For. Days.  I’m fully invested in this show and I just can’t wait to see it again in a few weeks! 

Westlake, Round Rock and Bowie were all very very good as well.  Westlake looks so sharp in those colors.  I just love those fluffy baby blue plumes, what can I say?!  And they just sounded beautiful as always.  Round Rock looks to be on their way to another great GN show, and we all know the Dragon Band will polish this thing up until it just SHINES in the Alamodome and in Lucas Oil.  Bowie seems to very much be in the same boat as Leander. Smaller band and a less experienced guard than we are accustomed to seeing, but they are still Bowie, and they are still fantastic!  I just love those kids and what they do, and I can’t wait to see them blossom throughout this season and next.

Westwood!  I love this show!  Human Again is about Beauty and the Beast, and I am really anxious to see what they do with it in the coming weeks. It’s already a great theme, but I know they are going to add even more fun touches to it before the season ends. I love this band so much and always look forward to whatever wonky or highly entertaining theme they come up with. They sure know how to please a crowd!

Last but not least, the Weiss band made Austin finals for the first time and wow, what a great show to do it with!  I really appreciate the Golden persona Weiss has taken on with their themes of late, and The Age of Opulence really displays how good Weiss is at these kinds of over the top productions. This show is filled with GE moments and I think we will continue to see this amazing band making huge strides in the coming years.

What an incredible weekend it was, and I am so grateful to have finally been able to spend another long, hot Saturday back in the stadium watching my favorite activity!!!  Let’s do it again….oh, say, next week?!  ?

[Nny14]

I was bored so I timed the amount of show each band in finals had on the field. Unfortunately I couldn't time Bowie due to Box5's streaming issue that night. This includes any pre-show to the very last note. 

1. CTJ - 12:14

2. Rouse - 7:44

3. Cedar Park - 7:28

4. Weiss - 7:18

5. Vandegrift - 6:56 

6. Westwood - 6:55

7. Leander - 6:35

8. Cedar Ridge - 6:23

9. Vista Ridge - 6:12

10. Westlake - 5:54

11. Round Rock - 5:48 

 

 

[LeanderMomma]

  On 9/30/2021 at 1:10 AM, Nny14 said:

I was bored so I timed the amount of show each band in finals had on the field. Unfortunately I couldn't time Bowie due to Box5's streaming issue that night. This includes any pre-show to the very last note. 

1. CTJ - 12:14

2. Rouse - 7:44

3. Cedar Park - 7:28

4. Weiss - 7:18

5. Vandegrift - 6:56 

6. Westwood - 6:55

7. Leander - 6:35

8. Cedar Ridge - 6:23

9. Vista Ridge - 6:12

10. Westlake - 5:54

11. Round Rock - 5:48 

 

 

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Interesting!

[lost]

Check out what I just found on accident:

https://marching.musicforall.org/program-austin-2021/

 

[Oldbandparent]

  On 10/7/2021 at 11:52 AM, Bandmanio said:

  On 9/21/2021 at 11:43 PM, Rubisco said:

Okay, so the music sounds like it could be early season Bowie, and I like the arrangement, but I was thrown off a bit by the guard. It's a lot smaller and less... uh... world class looking than usual? They were the absolute standard for guards in TX just a few years ago. This might be another case of pandemic rebuilding, unfortunately. Question for anybody who knows: did the Bowie guard compete at all last winter guard season? I don't remember. I know they didn't do the WGI virtual thing.

Lots of guards are taking a hit this season it seems. I think it underscores just how fragile guard programs are in general.

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Bowie Winter Guard did not compete last spring. The guard lost all of its upperclassmen, and this year is about a third of its normal size. It’s a complete rebuild. Daniel Riley was brought in from Castle (IN) and SCV to be the director. They’ll get back to the previous standard but it’ll take a little time.